NIA books 3 Manipur rebels for aiding Maoists

The links between Maoists and Manipur rebels have been suspected for long, but on Monday, following an 11-month investigation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed the first chargesheet that traces the longstanding cooperation between the two banned groups.

The links between Maoists and Manipur rebels have been suspected for long, but on Monday, following an 11-month investigation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed the first chargesheet that traces the longstanding cooperation between the two banned groups.

The chargesheet was against three members of Manipur-based extremist group People’s Liberation Army, who have been accused of imparting training to Maoists and supplying them with arms and waging war against the country. They are N Dilip Singh alias Wangba, Senjam Dhiren Singh alias Raghu and K Arnold Singh. Wangba is the PLA’s chief of external affairs department.

In July 2011, the NIA had registered a case against the PLA, said an officer of the agency. The jigsaw pieces fell in place after the arrest of K Arnold Singh alias Beacon from Siliguri on April 2. He was the PLA-Maoist linkman in Kolkata.

Investigations revealed that PLA’s rapport with Maoists began in June 2006.

“Their meetings resulted in the establishment of an office of the PLA in Kolkata towards the end of 2006,” he said. “This office coordinated the procurement of arms and ammunition and its supply to the Maoists.”

The chargesheet said in 2008, Maoist leaders met a PLA delegation led by its chief, Irengbum Chaoren, in a foreign country and inked a joint declaration to wage war against India.

The PLA subsequently struck a deal to supply sophisticated weapons to the Maoists in lieu of explosives, mainly ammonium nitrate. The Maoists have periodically been sending money to the PLA for arms, ammunition and communication devices.

“The PLA’s Kolkata office played a crucial role in receiving the money,” said the officer.